Garment steaming appliances, such as steam irons, have vents for the passage of steam out of the iron towards a garment being steamed. Steam is directed along a steam channel formed in a sole plate towards the vents. The jet of steam emitted from the vents is preferred to have a directionality which is substantially perpendicular to the ironing surface of the sole plate for good ironing results.
However, it is becoming more common to provide steaming appliances having a sole plate which is (very) thin and of low mass. For example, FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional elevation through such a thin sole plate assembly 1 having a sole plate 2 and an ironing plate 3 with an ironing surface 4 that is applied to garments to be ironed. The ironing plate 3 forms part of the sole plate assembly 1 and may be integral with the sole plate 2 or separate and detachable therefrom for ease of manufacture. The sole plate 2 is provided with a recess 5 in its lower surface that forms a steam channel 6. Steam is directed from a steam chamber (not shown) along the steam channel 6 in a generally horizontal direction, as indicated by arrow “A”. The steam is travelling along the steam channel 6 in a direction substantially parallel to the ironing surface 4. Vents 7 are formed in the ironing pate 3 so that the steam passes through vents 7 and out of the appliance onto a garment being ironed. The vents 7 may have an average length in a direction across the ironing plate 3 of less than 5 mm, and may even have a length which is five times less than their major dimension such as their diameter. However, when the ironing plate 3 is relatively thin, the steam is emitted at an angle more towards a horizontal direction, as indicated by arrow ‘B’, which results in less efficient ironing. In other words, this type of sole plate 2 results in the jet of steam being emitted from the steam vents 7 with a substantial component of motion in a direction that corresponds to its original direction of motion prior to passing into the vents 7. This causes steam to flow from the ironing surface 4 in a substantially sideways direction or in a direction towards the front or rear of the iron.